Automobile.



C. W. DUER.

AUTOMOBILE. APPLICATION FILED I'EB.21, 1910.

Patented July 18,1911.'

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I Wnverzizw UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES WILLIAM DUER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

AUTOMOBILE.

Speciflcatio not Letters Patent. Patented July 18, 1911 Applicationfiled February 21, 1910. Serial No. 545,032.

bled within a housing interposed between the two sections of the rearaxle. In an other popular form the transmission is do tached from thefirst unit. and assembled with thebevel drive in the housin the sectionsof the rear axle, whi e in still a third formthe engine and clutchconstitute one unit, the bevel drive a second unit, and the transmissionstill a third, inter osed between the other two and indepen entlysupported upon the chassis Among the faults of thefirst are too muchweight in front and difiiculty .in access to the clutch and transmissionowing to the proximity of the engine, while the second system throws toomuch weight on the rear axle without any spring support, and with thethird the units are inconveniently scattered. A further fault, common toall machines which have afgear housing interposed between sections 0 arear or main axle, is also lack of clearance, since any such housmgnecessarily drops considerably below the plane of the Y axle and thedistance between its lowest point and the ground determines the maximumavailable clearance.

In my present invention I propose ploy but two units and to vmountneither upon the main axle, which may therefore,

and should be, rigid from end,to end, giving it and the whole structuremore clearance,

' provision of course being made for drivin the the wheels independentlyof the axle, an

ints of attachment being such as to avoid breaking torsion; forinstance, three as has for a long time been customary. In thedrawings-Figure 1 is a. top plan view of achass1s' andapparatusfdlsposed thereon accordingto -my'mvention, in the best waymowknown to me; Fig; 2, is 'an enlarged plan of the rear part of said ma-'chine, showingthe'transmission and bevel drive in their housin on thechassis above the main axle, and Fig. 3 is a rear elevation between toeniexplanatory of the relation between chassis, sprin s, main axle anddrive.

Re erring now to said drawings, the numeral 1 represents the chassis and2 is the engine of any desired number of cylinders and supported uponthe chassis in any a proved manner. A clutch, 3, is refera ly built inwiththe engine, as a unit, and reaching rearwardly'from a short-shaft 3coupled to the engine shaft by this clutchis a universally jointedshaft, 4, connecting with the transmission, 5, on the chassis above therear axle. This shaft has two joints, one at front and the other atrear, the latter connecting with the spindle of the transmission.

The bevel drive, .5, is immediatelyin rear of the transmission andmounted in the same housing, 6, or one practically the same,constituting in effect a single unit, the second of the two employed inmy machine,

The short spindle, 7, of this drive is mount-- ed in bearings, 8, on thechassis and turns two universal jointed shafts, 9, by which the rearwheels are driven. These wheels are mounted on a continuous axle whichdoes not revolve. This axle, 10, may be tubular, and will be bent orbulged out in apractically horizontal plane from the line.

of the long wheel bearings, 11,,at its end, thus insuring full clearanceto the machine. Springs, 12, will be interposed between the axle andchassis, and brakes, 13, will be provided upon the wheels, as shown.

The journals of the axle are tubular and within them turns a shortspindle 14 driven by the aforesaid shaft 9' and rigidly connected atit's outerend 'to the hub of the wheel at 15, to drive the latter.Suitable means will be provided to compensate for the .varying distancebetween chassis andaxle due to the yielding of the sprin 'For instancethe universal joints of t e shafts 9 will usually sufii'ce to take upthe necessary play.

Having .thus described my .invention' and the best manner now known tome in which it may be carried out, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent of the United States is:.

The combination, in an automobile, of

a chassis, the (power and actuating mechanism arrange thereon/ in twoexclusive units, one of which is located at the front and comprises assalient feature the engine,

and the other, located at the rear, comof the chassis, the engine andclutch supported as an independent unit on the front part of thechassis, a universally jointed shaft connecting the latter unit withtheformer, a continuous, non-rotative main axle located beneath the rearpart of the chassis, driving wheels journaled on the ends of said axle,a pair of universally jointed shafts connecting the'driving gear withthe hubs the chassis, driving wheels jour-' -zonta-l plane from its wheof said wheels, and cushioning springs interposed between the chassisand main axle.

3. The combination, in an automobile, of a chassis, the transmission anddriving gear supported as a single unit on the rear part of the chassis,the engine and clutch supported as an independent unit on the front partof the chassis, a universally jointed shaft connecting the latter unitwith the former, a continuous, non-rotative main axle bent or bulged outin ractically a horie i bearings and located'beneath the first unit,driving wheels journaled on the ends of said axle, a pair of universallyjointed shafts connecting the driving gear of the first unit with thehubs of said wheels, and cushlonm sprlngs'inter- 0 posed between thechassis an main axle.

CHARLES WILLIAM- DUER.

Witnesses:

M. W. CANTWELL, Josnrn G. PARKINSON.

